Theme: The INs are OUT! The letters IN are removed from in the language phrases or titles, to create a new and completely whimsical clue/fill combo. This is our third puzzle from Bruce, but his first sharing the honors with Doug Peterson one of my many favorite constructors. All of Bruce's LAT puzzles have been published on Friday, so I am now his caddy, his Stevie Williams; oops bad analogy. The theme is the same concept of his September offering, but I found getting started very hard maybe because I got up at 5:30, this morning, but I got 'er done, and had a really good time doing so. Very few three letter words, and lots of original stuff made this a treat. So let's go.
20A. Movie about a wacky submarine crew?: THE DIVINE COMEDY. The very unfunny book by Dante Alighieri, is juxtaposed with a silly clue. Once I got this I had the theme, and all the the corner, but it was hard, as I kept picturing the Cary Grant Tony Curtis movie, Operation Petticoat.
33A. Feeling when surrounded by taxis?: CABIN PRESSURE. Hard to picture than many taxicabs, but Cabin Pressure in an airplane is very important.
40A. Prince's request to the Pauper?: WILL YOU BE MINE? The classic story where the rich kid wants to experience the freedom of no responsibility, so he changes places with the poor kid, told so well by our own Mark Twain. I like the Anita Baker version of the song.
52A. Random criticisms from the Musketeers?: THREE POINT SHOTS. Pot shots are what are modern press believe is reporting; and 3 point shots are a basketball term for long distance scoring, worth more then regular scoring (2 points). Going to see the newest movie version?
The unifier,
48D. Unexpected visitor ... and a hint to 20-, 33-, 40- and 52-Across: DROP IN, suggesting the dropping of 'IN' from words. It came too late to help me.
Across:
1. Revolution for Caesar?: ANNUM. Latin for a year, one revolution around the sun.
6. Run together: BLUR. This is what my vision is like.
10. Midnight snack: NOSH.
14. "The Family Man" actress: LEONI. David Duchovny's long suffering wife, and the co-star with Nicholas Cage in this MOVIE variation of the Prince and the Pauper, where the rich single guy becomes married with kids in a bizarre flashback to what might have been
15. Mystical letter: RUNE. I am sure all of our crew with Germanic, English and Scandinavian backgrounds found this easy.
20A. Movie about a wacky submarine crew?: THE DIV
33A. Feeling when surrounded by taxis?: CAB
40A. Prince's request to the Pauper?: WILL YOU BE M
52A. Random criticisms from the Musketeers?: THREE PO
The unifier,
48D. Unexpected visitor ... and a hint to 20-, 33-, 40- and 52-Across: DROP IN, suggesting the dropping of 'IN' from words. It came too late to help me.
Across:
1. Revolution for Caesar?: ANNUM. Latin for a year, one revolution around the sun.
6. Run together: BLUR. This is what my vision is like.
10. Midnight snack: NOSH.
14. "The Family Man" actress: LEONI. David Duchovny's long suffering wife, and the co-star with Nicholas Cage in this MOVIE variation of the Prince and the Pauper, where the rich single guy becomes married with kids in a bizarre flashback to what might have been
15. Mystical letter: RUNE. I am sure all of our crew with Germanic, English and Scandinavian backgrounds found this easy.
16. Home furnishings acronym: IKEA. The ultimate first letter challenge. The founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad),the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd).
17. Success symbol: AWARD. Who was taught 'let them have the credit, you take the cash.'
18. Alarm clock toggle: AM/PM.
19. Shout to a line: NEXT. Great visual, standing in line in the bank.
23. Give out in portions : ALLOT. Meant to say something...
24. Set-to: ROW. Not ROW which rhymes with BOW, oops I mean with BLOW, but the one which sounds like COW, HOW NOW? English is so easy to learn, right C.C.
25. Quarterdeck?: SPADES. Yes, the other quarters being clubs, hearts and diamonds.
28. Set the stage for: USHER IN. Is Usher still in?
32. Carpooler's __ lane: HOV. high-occupancy vehicle. Did you hear about the sad group from Jersey who could not decide between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel to go to work? they suffered from Carpool Tunnel Syndrome.
36. Largest of a septet: ASIA. The seven continents.
38. Tote: LUG. To carry.
39. Certain surgeon's concern: TREE. The poor sap thought he was going to medical school.
45. In addition: AND.
46. Level of importance: STATURE. being short, I debate this.
47. Harper Lee recluse Boo __: RADLEY. Brilliantly played by ROBERT DUVALL in To Kill a Mockingbird, a wonderful courtroom drama to warm the soul of this old ex-litigator along with 7D. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. The movie and play about a jury trapped because of one holdout is marvelous, but Lumet's CAREER was awesome. He died April of this year.
49. Chicago city council mem.: ALD.
50. Prepare eggs, in a way: SHIRR. Simplified, you bake them; I learned the term from reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, as Wolfe liked his eggs a la FRITZ BRENNER WM, you out there?
57. Thick-bodied fish: CHUB. See LINK not ot be confused with the very UN-PC (see below) slang meaning, though if you think about it, it all makes sense.
58. Stir up: RILE. Is this related to the Life of Riley?
59. Birthstones for some Scorpios: OPALS. The last week in October ones.
61. Farm housing: SILO. Housing for the grain? Missiles?
62. Letters from Hera : ETAS. We have lots of Greek going on today.
63. Cap: LIMIT. Like the NFL's salary cap.
64. Like the ocean around SEALAB: INKY. Not to be confused with INKA from earlier this week.
65. Run like a rabbit: DART. Do any of you like John Updike's books?
66. Green Goblin, to Spider-Man: ENEMY. GG is long dead, though.
Down:
1. In the vein of: A LA. Mode? Yummy.
2. Pond denizen: NEWT. I know he is not in favor anymore but this is awfully cruel to Mr. Gingrich.
3. Role in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH. never heard of the musical, but it was a logical guess from the biblical story.
4. Like fliers on the windshield, usually: UNREAD. Actually crumpled and left in the parking lot; this whole corner was very hard for me.
5. Place to start for a young music student: MIDDLE C. One of the beauties of music, where do you start, in the beginning, no in the middle.
6. "Well played!": BRAVO. Also a network.
8. Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC. There is nothing I can say which would not be political. so....
9. "Why'd I do that?" feeling: REMORSE. Or perhaps to do your code over again?
10. Trendy retailer named for its original 57th Street address: NINE WEST. These SHOES remind me of missing Robin, and our other youngsters, Tarra Jo, and recently missing Jeannie.
11. Gave the nod: OK'ED. Okay.
12. Tantalizing, in a way: SEXY. Your choice?
17. Success symbol: AWARD. Who was taught 'let them have the credit, you take the cash.'
18. Alarm clock toggle: AM/PM.
19. Shout to a line: NEXT. Great visual, standing in line in the bank.
23. Give out in portions : ALLOT. Meant to say something...
24. Set-to: ROW. Not ROW which rhymes with BOW, oops I mean with BLOW, but the one which sounds like COW, HOW NOW? English is so easy to learn, right C.C.
25. Quarterdeck?: SPADES. Yes, the other quarters being clubs, hearts and diamonds.
28. Set the stage for: USHER IN. Is Usher still in?
32. Carpooler's __ lane: HOV. high-occupancy vehicle. Did you hear about the sad group from Jersey who could not decide between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel to go to work? they suffered from Carpool Tunnel Syndrome.
36. Largest of a septet: ASIA. The seven continents.
38. Tote: LUG. To carry.
39. Certain surgeon's concern: TREE. The poor sap thought he was going to medical school.
45. In addition: AND.
46. Level of importance: STATURE. being short, I debate this.
47. Harper Lee recluse Boo __: RADLEY. Brilliantly played by ROBERT DUVALL in To Kill a Mockingbird, a wonderful courtroom drama to warm the soul of this old ex-litigator along with 7D. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. The movie and play about a jury trapped because of one holdout is marvelous, but Lumet's CAREER was awesome. He died April of this year.
49. Chicago city council mem.: ALD.
50. Prepare eggs, in a way: SHIRR. Simplified, you bake them; I learned the term from reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, as Wolfe liked his eggs a la FRITZ BRENNER WM, you out there?
57. Thick-bodied fish: CHUB. See LINK not ot be confused with the very UN-PC (see below) slang meaning, though if you think about it, it all makes sense.
58. Stir up: RILE. Is this related to the Life of Riley?
59. Birthstones for some Scorpios: OPALS. The last week in October ones.
61. Farm housing: SILO. Housing for the grain? Missiles?
62. Letters from Hera : ETAS. We have lots of Greek going on today.
63. Cap: LIMIT. Like the NFL's salary cap.
64. Like the ocean around SEALAB: INKY. Not to be confused with INKA from earlier this week.
65. Run like a rabbit: DART. Do any of you like John Updike's books?
66. Green Goblin, to Spider-Man: ENEMY. GG is long dead, though.
Down:
1. In the vein of: A LA. Mode? Yummy.
2. Pond denizen: NEWT. I know he is not in favor anymore but this is awfully cruel to Mr. Gingrich.
3. Role in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH. never heard of the musical, but it was a logical guess from the biblical story.
4. Like fliers on the windshield, usually: UNREAD. Actually crumpled and left in the parking lot; this whole corner was very hard for me.
5. Place to start for a young music student: MIDDLE C. One of the beauties of music, where do you start, in the beginning, no in the middle.
6. "Well played!": BRAVO. Also a network.
8. Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC. There is nothing I can say which would not be political. so....
9. "Why'd I do that?" feeling: REMORSE. Or perhaps to do your code over again?
10. Trendy retailer named for its original 57th Street address: NINE WEST. These SHOES remind me of missing Robin, and our other youngsters, Tarra Jo, and recently missing Jeannie.
11. Gave the nod: OK'ED. Okay.
12. Tantalizing, in a way: SEXY. Your choice?
13. Magician's prop: HAT. Where did I put that rabbit?
21. Iconic Ingrid role: ILSA. Is this common fill crosswordese now?
22. Mineralogist with a scale.: MOHS. The one with a hardness scale (not quite like Lois' hardness scale).
25. Fiona of "Harry Potter" films et al.: SHAWS. Not one of our favorite type of clues, as the plural is entirely gratuitous, especially where there are other Shaws like George Bernard or Jaws actor Robert. Fiona, meanwhile was fabulous as MARNIE on True Blood, this season. (1:00)
26. Put forth: POSIT. A good two dollar lawyer word, as attorneys do not like to say anything, they aver, they propose, suggest...yaddah, yaddah.
27. Walled Spanish city: AVILA. How fun, the walled home of our Spanish saint, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada,
28. Desire: URGE. I really would like to hear from all our missing ones; it was such fun to have Dennis back for the day
29. Bumpkin: RURAL. I had a hard time with this clue, as various forms of RUBE kept coming to mind; I do not think of rural as a noun.
30. Goddess of peace : IRENE. From the Greek, EIRENE, and my mother's name.
31. Down-and-out: NEEDY. Anyone else think seedy?
34. Down: BLUE. You think LOVE is? Paul Mariat you rock. (2:28)
35. Pint seller: PUB. The needed beer reference for a non-beer loving man who raised two boys each wanting to brew beer and run a pub.
37. Bible bearer, often : ALTAR BOY. Followed by another semi-religious clue.
41. Winter season: YULE. This comes from the Germanic pagan festival of yuletide, which was incorporated into the Christian history when the birth was moved from summer to December 25.
42. Put in place: ORDERED. I was thinking about putting someone in their place, not just organizing.
43. Pictures taken in a hosp: MRIS. Magnetic Resonance Images.
44. Football helmet feature: EAR HOLE. A very literal clue, so the players can hear the signals, the play calls etc.
50. Like some panels: SOLAR. Anyone using solar?
51. Earthshaking '50s event: H-TEST. Hydrogen bomb test, literally earth shaking.
52. Slender: THIN. I like slender better, thin always seems like a criticism.
53. Clumsy ship: HULK. I do not know why, but whenever we would drive by a big old ship, my father would say, "Look at that old Hulk." Those of you who sail, any reason?
54. Edible pocket: PITA. The bread from the Mediterranean, the word comes from the Greek word for Pie. In texting it means Pain in the, well you get it.
55. Get under control: TAME. Do you think of animals, your hair or your spouse?
56. Unlikely: SLIM, and his best pal none.
57. TV drama set in Vegas: CSI. Crime Scene Investigator; any thoughts on the Ted Danson experiment?
60. Wilbur's whereabouts, in "Charlotte's Web": STY. He actually spent most of his time in the barn, didn't he?
Answer grid.
Well my work is done, thanks Bruce and Doug. It is also my last chance to remind you lurkers and oldsters to come say hello on Wednesday the 23rd. You all know who you are. We like hearing from you and knowing you are all doing well and just too busy for this to be the daily stopping point. Happy Turkey Day all.
Lemonade
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday, Jimbo! Hope you're doing well and still read the blog every day.
58 comments:
Good morning, Lemonade, C.C. and gang - got my ass kicked with this one throughout. I needed Google, Bing, Wiki, and almost called the FBI. On my trip through stupidville, in addition to the unknowns I screwed myself up in several places, including AMFM for 'Alarm clock toggle', which gave me UNFC for a perp, and I can't repeat the acronym I came up with for that one.
Had no idea rural and bumpkin were synonymous - I thought a bumpkin was a person and rural was a description of an area. Didn't know Boo Radley or Fiona Shaw, never heard of a chub as a fish, and pulled Mohs out of my now-happy prostate.
Overall though, clever theme and a fun, challenging puzzle, but it made my head hurt. I'm claiming rust.
I'll have to read the write up later as I no longer have advance access and have to go 'lug' some weights. Hope it's an outstanding Friday for everyone.
Morning, all!
Definitely a challenge, but I had an easier time of it than Dennis I guess. I got the theme early on and it helped with all the theme answers except for THREEPOTSHOT which I couldn't figure out what the base phrase was supposed to be until after solving the puzzle and re-examining it.
I loved the clues for ANNUM and SPADES. Very tricky! I also loved the clue for MIDDLE C as my 6-year-old just started taking piano lessons last week and now every night as he practices his first question is "where is MIDDLE C?"
I couldn't decide whether 52D should be THIN or SLIM at first, but then 56D turned out to be SLIM, so that became obvious.
My wife shops at NINE WEST, so that was easy. ALTAR BOY, on the other hand, was hard to get, me not being Catholic and all.
Thanks for the nice write up Lemonade. This was the first puzzle Doug and I created together. We started brainstorming in July 2010. It takes a while to get it to the paper, but it was so much fun to do. Glad that others seem to have enjoyed it as well. Rich kept many of our original clues which is always nice. Have a great day all. Check back later.
Wow, another Dennis sighting and an early morning constructor. Good way to start the day. Thanks Bruce.
Carpool Tunnel? Lemon, I thinks it's time for you to go to bed.
My only misstep was DASH for DART, but HTEST set me straight.
Got the theme at THEDIVECOMEDY, but even after completing THREEPOTSHOTS I couldn't figure out where to put the IN. Had to come here to learn that along with the meaning of IKEA, interestingly useless.
The puzzle took the full 30 minutes, so I'd definitely rate it a Friday-level exercise. Thanks Mr. Sutphin, and nice writeup, Lemonade.
First entry ... PUB.
Off the 'L' in Boo RADLEY, my Bumpkin was a Yokel.
For that "Flier on my windshield" I wanted some kind of smashed bug.
Then the SE fell.
So I knew I should "DROP" IN ...
then later, as I "Set the stage" it was USHER-IN.
All-in-all, a beautiful INKY blot H-TEST.
BOOOOOOM !!!
Hi gang -
I couldn't suss the INS and outs of this one, did worse than Dennis, and felt like I was saying, "Thank you, sir. May I have another?" throughout.
Ouch!
Great puzzle, just w-a-a-a-y over my little, pointy, balding head.
Bilateral symmetries:
THIN (crossing CHUB!) and SLIM.
SEXY NEWT (Chortle!)
NOAH OK'ED each pair.
The HULK was not TAME.
Granddaughters on the way. IMBO.
Cheers!
JzB
Hello Puzzlers -
Tough going today! Took a while to get a toehold, and unknowns made for a lot of trial and error. The SE was first to fall, so DROPIN was established and the theme with it. Not that that made things easier.
The SW was just plain obstinate. Couldn't come up with CHUB, YULE, ALTARBOY, or INKY. CSI looked probable but I was short on conviction. Once the THREE of the POTSHOTS came to light, that fixed it.
I didn't know IKEA was an acronym, just thought it was some obscure Sweedish word. Very interesting.
25A was very clever: Quarterdeck? SPADES. I never heard of SHIRR before. And even after I figured out the theme and completed the fill I was stumped finding the missing IN in 52A.
Happy to say I successfully completed a challenging Friday puzzle! Probably won't be able to say the same thing working tomorrow's grid though.
Welcome back St. Teresa. (27D) Wishing everybody a speedy Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Tinbeni - love the smashed bug idea! Also, never heard RURAL in that context before.
Greetings!
Great puzzle, Bruce. Swell write-up, Lemon. Who is in picture? Forget name of actor.
No cheating. Had 4 hours' sleep before working this. Really helps clarity of mind and psychs me up. Liked the theme clues. Got theme from first theme answer.
Also dislike RURAL. First answer I got was, oddly enough, ANNUM, Lemon.
How does Bruce find time to work 43 puzzles/week? Must be awfully good at it. Head overfloweth with trivia?
My solar panels still not hooked into LADWP. I have been grousing here for many, many months, I think.
Littering is bad!
Have a little time to snooze before phlebotomist comes to poke me and gauge my dosage of Warfarin, which some of you may know is a rat poison also. Egad. (Contd.)
(Contd.)
Bought a cheapo Nook Book because I was able to pay for it mostly with gift certificates. Took forever to set up. Was on the phone to India, etc. First "tech support" guy a real idiot! Really hate outsourcing. Anyone else? (We keep giving away decent jobs.)
Anyone else watching Bones? Pretty good so far, methinks.
Have an exciting or peaceful weekend, whichever you prefer!
Mornin' to all:
Thought I was quite smart for an old gal until this puzzle! Especially when I got stumped in the NE corner...not a good beginning....and the ending was not a big boom!
Hope today is a great Friday for the working crew....I'm off to shop for some warm clothes.
Not knowing much about music, sport or drama, even the parts I should have known came slow today. I ended up getting most except the NW where ANNUM, MIDdler, NOAH, NeWT and leONI remained mysteries to me. I didn't know Divine Comedy had a "THE" so spent a lot of time lost on that.
Got the theme early, but like others POINT escaped me, especially since I still had blanks in SOlar and SHiRr, as well as guessing EYE for EARhole (don't they wear radio receivers these days to hear the calls?).
Oh, and I've never lived anywhere near a city with freeways so never remember the HOV thing. I guessed MOV for "more occupants vehicle", so the Smaws looked as good as anything else for Fiona's name (never read or saw those books/movies either).
I was on the same wave as Tin with squashed bugs on the windshield too. But I ended up a lot better off than at first expected.
I guess I meant Middle C instead of Middler. And shirr is something I have never heard of. Why would anyone bake eggs when they're so good fried in a dab of olive oil, scrambled, soft boiled or in omelets?
I've gotten to the point where now I rarely g'spot anything--it's quicker to come here and get a hint or just plain give up. Time is of the essence, since I'm in newsletter mode again, as well as preparing for a T'day visit from son #1 for a week, to be followed a couple of weeks after that by our departure to visit him in Germany for Christmas.
Have a great TGIF and weekend everyone!
Thank you Lemonade for that chatty and funny blog - sometimes I think I can 'sense' the genial man behind the blog - especially in your case.
As for the puzzle - I felt I was in a parallel alternate universe - a few unrelated answers - mostly wrong. Somehow I am reminded of a comic strip by 'Calvin and Hobbes'.
Have a good weekend, you all.
Alt QOD:- They swore Hillary in with the Clinton family bible. You know - the one with only seven commandments. ~ David Letterman.
Kazie, try the recipe I linked for shirred eggs before you discount the benefits of variety. How is the Hill treating you marti, catch basketball fever?
Fermatprime, I met Karl Paul Link, the inventor of Warfarin, about 40 years ago. He lived next door to my first wife's folks in Madison. That was in a ritzy part of town, so apparently he he did right well with his invention.
Also, hand up for not knowing RURAL could be used as a noun.
Good morning Lemonade and all.
Had the same experience as most of you. Agree with Dennis about RURAL. Got the theme fill in due course and understood the unifier. Still had to stare at the completed puzzle to see where the 'ins' were dropped, and finally saw the scheme. So it didn't help me but at least I 'got' it before coming here. AVILA was a WAG. I did not know NINE WEST and needed red letter help in the NW; with LEONI. I thought UNREAD was very cleverly clued. I always wondered what that hole in the helmet at the ear was called.
Have a great day.
The Bumpkin clue threw me off too last night when I was solving it. I went back and checked and my original clue for RURAL was "Like the Ozarks". I think I had just watched "Winter's Bone" when I was working with Doug on the puzzle.
I found the puzzle moderate in difficuty with the NW falling last since I plunked ALGA in for NEWT. The add a letter(s) Friday continues but this one felt a bit more fresh with two letters and those leteres were added in places that weren't as easy to suss out. The puzzle overall was solid with no real groaners, hmm maybe ALD. Nice solid job by the dynamic duo and Peterson got in a Spiderman clue.
Good Morning, all. The flu hit me like a Mack truck this morning, which seriously interfered with my solving ability.
I wanted Duck for the Pond Denizen.
I rather like Ted Dansen in Las Vegas, too.
Back to bed to sleep off this ailment.
QOD: Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head. ~ Ann Landers
Lemonade, great write up. It was a smooth puzzle today with just enough challenge to make it interesting. I had the theme answers before the reveal and needed that to understand them.
At our airport we experience CAB PRESSURE; so much so that the airport has an official to make the cabs and passengers take turns and to be sure there is no price gouging.
I have watched To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorites, many times, each time keying on a different aspect. The last time I concentrated on Boo Radley.
I agree that RURAL is an adjective and BUMPKIN is a noun. Most rural people, especially those on the blog, are not bumpkins.
There are always objections to clues like, FIONA ET AL. I think FIONA AND FAMILY = SHAWS is better.
Hahtool,
Good QOD.
Lemon,
Yes, that recipe does look good, but I guess I would think twice about heating the oven for something so small. Thanks for your blogging, but I just haven't had time to follow all the links lately on any day. I really don't know how I survived before I retired!
I actually think Newt belongs with the pond scum--not politically but as a human being.
I saw the same squashed bugs as Tin & kazie, and all I could think about as I was solving was:
"What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind as it hits the windshield?"
I can accept bumpkin more as an adjective than rural as a noun.
Lemon, you writing "a jury trapped because one holdout is marvelous" had me laughing, and wondering what that jury room was like.
Baked eggs? Real men don't eat quiche!
Dennis, I am sorry I didn't answer you yesterday. I had used up my 5 posts. I live in beautiful Morris County, NJ. There are wild turkeys, a fox family, rabbits, squirrels, a huge variety of birds, and an occasional bear in our back yard.
We live near Washington's winter headquarters in Morristown. Nearby is Jockey Hollow where Washington's troops encamped during a truly horrible winter. Jockey Hollow is not as famous as Valley Forge because there was much less loss of life here, in spite of far worse conditions. By then the army had learned more about winter survival.
As you know, with our mountains, beaches, farmland, and spacious green suburbs NJ has a lot to be proud of.
Good day, lemonade, C.C. and cyber friends.
Yowza! This was extremely challenging, definitely Friday level, thanks Bruce and Doug!
I saw the theme at WILLYOUBEME and that helped with THEDIVECOMEDY. very clever.
WAGged my way through most of it and I have to agree on RURAL; it's usually an adjective not a noun.
Hand up for the NW difficulty; it gave me fits and finally had to look at the blog. I had LEONI, ALA and MIDDLEC but was too bushed to think further. Plus I awoke with a SORE neck.
I feel good about finishing 95% of this.
Everyone have a great Friday!
Wow! This was very difficult for me. Must admit using the answer grid for help. Without it this would have been a DNF for me! Had the same problem with bumpkin/rural as others. But then I did so badly that one problem was insignificant. After having my rear end kicked, I'm waiting for Monday.
Hello.
Tried to do puzzle while watching the Sharks beat Detroit. Puzzle lost.
Forgot to watch Bones. Am upset with NBC for dropping Prime Suspect. It's the only show that I watch.
Take care. eddy
Green Goblin's been back for years. Major baddie for all of Marvel Comics nowadays.
By the way, the answer to the question I posed earlier is a bit UN-PC, and can be found in Lemonade's PITA.
And, I can't let another 80s band get by without a video! Here's ASIA, with Sole Survivor (5:46).
Good day folks,
I got the same body part kicked as Dennis. Never got started. The North and Central were 95% blank. Managed to suss the SE and that was it.
Cold is hanging on big time. Back into the sack.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
A girlfriend of mine has a dog named PITA because she's a pain in the (what lemonade said).
Took a long time over this puzzle. Agree @everyone else about RURAL.
I felt a bit "blah" about the theme - I get it, I see it, but there was something didn't really feel right - maybe the theme answers were all so unrelated, or something. Maybe it's just me being grumpy.
Is NOSH US-English for a midnight snack specifically? Across the pond, nosh is used to describe a good, hearty meal - a "nosh up". I'd say a "square meal", but I don't want to get into a fight over wooden plates and the British Navy nonsense again. :)
Happy Friday!
Hi all
Dennis, what a nice surprise (again) to see your post in first position this morning :) We all have missed you!
This one made my head ache (as well as the nether regions) and I did not finish it. That's ok, it's Friday and I know I rarely do well with those puzzles. It's a good brain exercise though.
Steve: re: NOSH. I think in this country it probably came from the Yiddish. German is Naschen - 'to have a nibble'. As a kid in a N. German cultured home, I was admonished frequently to cut out the 'naschen', especially if goodies were being baked.
Yellowrocks, that is indeed beautiful country. Used to love skiing at Great Gorge when the Playboy club was there (or so I heard).
desper-otto, I liked the "interestingly useless" line; I've frequently used the reverse, "uselessly interesting".
SouthernBelle, it's great to see you again, but what happened to that great picture?
eddyB, beware the Kings; they're the real deal this year. My buddy's the assistant GM and they've put together a strong young team. A very tight division.
hondo, hope you're feeling better. Try some of Tinman's medicine.
Hondo, Tin and Dennis,
Your combined references remind me that our German family in Chemnitz always refer to aperitifs as "Medizin", so they must be good for something, right?
Hope you feel better after napping, Hondo. In fact you should blame the cold for not finishing today.
Really enjoyed this one but had trouble with NW corner. Quarterdeck is a clever clue - thought it was a particular part of a ship. Noah just came to me from clue. Liked middleC - I am learning to be part of a bell ringers group. The swim club I belong to has "movie nights" called Dive Ins - thus I might have seen The Dive In Comedy. 'Nuff for now. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Hi all,
On Friday, I always am very fond of Lemon, my help in puzzles past. Plugged in Ala, Noah, and MiddleC so WAGd ANNUM. Then solved the whole NE block. Thought I was pretty smart. Down hill from there...got no full long answers.
Nit: IMHO "quarter deck" should be two words.
Am I the only UNPC person who didn't like "Charlotte's Web"? The moral of that story was "Anyone, even a pig, can be a celebrity if they have a publicist who is a good 'spin' doctor."
-PK
PK:
That is one way of looking at Charlotte's Web, but children love it. In the past I would show it to my fourth graders and use it as a springboard for new vocabulary as well as getting along well with "all the animals in the barn," i.e. everyone.
Today is not so pretty as usual. But worse yet, a neighbor is having some trees pruned. The incessant din of a chain saw has been going on for several hours. It's days like this that I wished I lived more out in the country where some of you live. Much more peaceful I'll warrant.
As usual, I DNF on Friday without help. But found the puzzle interesting. Thanks.
Figured out the theme, but could not see where the In went in 40A and 52A. Thanks Lemonade for showing me. But please, I hope you don't throw the unread flyer on the parking lot. That's adding injury to insult by littering.
I would like to go on record and state that I firmly espouse the separation of church and ALTAR BOY.
Now that I've finished the puzzle, I have nothing much to add that's not repetitive. It was hard but enjoyable for me. I sussed out the theme but it didn't help much with the solving. Thank goodness for red letters. Hands up for not liking the clue for RURAL. I much prefer Bruce's original clue. I loved quarter deck/SPADES.
Jeannie, come back. Tarrajo (sp?) too.
Lucina, I know "Charlotte's Web" is beloved by many children. However, mine didn't like it before I said anything. They didn't think it was very realistic or practical.
The difference may be because they were farm kids. They had raised pigs as 4-H projects and loved them, but they also knew the usefulness of such animals was as food for humans. Selling their 4-H pigs meant pocket money for them.
They didn't particularly like spiders so they couldn't see why anyone would believe anything written in a web. My 9-year-old son said, "Someone should have sprayed Charlotte." He told me he was sad about eating "George", but he cleaned his plate.
-PK
Not sure I would EVER refer to Avatar as "Medizin" (Medicine).
Though I do admire its preventative precautionary attributes.
Haven't had a Cold or Flu in years.
That I can remember ...
Who-weee! This puzzle kicked my Aunt Fanny. I had to turn on the red letters and ask my friend, Google, about Tea LEONI, but finally wrestled this beast to the ground.
I hate themes where letters are added to/subtracted from phrases. My brain just doesn't think that way.
In the end, I have to say I respect this puzz. Good battle today.
Happy Friday, all!
This was a keeper. It gave me lots of trouble, much rethinking and overwriting, periods of deep reflection,
but in the end I solved it, every square square of it--so it is exactly what we want in a puzzle, isn't it?
For me, the last to go was USHER IN. That gave me MOHS, which solved the mineralogy clue that I only "kinda" knew.
Bravo!
Kf
Nice hearing from Dennis again.
Kings beat Ducks two nights in a row to move into 1st place. Meet the Sharks on Nov 28th.
eddy
I thought today was an easier than usual friday. Eh.
Hi, good friends.
Another Friday proof that I should stick to my guns and forget about Friday puzzles.
This was an absolute killer! I could only DNF and there are way too many hangups to go into any of them.
I did get the 'in' drop but it didn't help. Congrats to all who were able to get 'er done!
Bruce and Doug, you dear guys, thanks. I agonized, but loved it! The theme really tickled me and it is always enjoyable, when I have to work at it. Time means nothing to me, when it comes to the puzzles. Ok. That's not altogether true, but I do expect to spend some time on a Friday puzzle.
Learned a few things; that's a plus.
Thanks for everyone's efforts; I'm talking posters too.
Son is going home tomorrow after brain surgery for Meniere's disease
and they're considering it successful. So is he.
Here's to a good night's sleep.
Thanks to all.
Good evening, folks. thank you, Bruce and Doug, for a swell puzzle. I got it, but it took me all day, off and on. Thank you, Lemonade, for the equally swell write-up. Nice interview with Bruce, as well.
I got ALA and NEWT in the NW fairly easily. That is where it stopped.
I headed south and caught CSI. CHUB and SILO were easy. I headed East and SHIRR came to mind. MRIS and EARHOLE were simple.
I got the unifier, DROP IN, before any of the theme answers. they were tough. My first to solve was THREE POT SHOTS. Eventually I got the rest. That helped with the remainder of the puzzle.
Enjoyed ANNUM, SPADES, USHER IN, NEWT, and BRAVO. I do like NEWT Gingrich as a candidate, also Herman Cain. We will see.
UNREAD was tough. I was thinking of bugs and had SPREAD, as in a bug being spread all over your windshield. ANNUM fixed that.
NINE WEST was tough. Got itb with perps.
All in all, I enjoyed the puzzle. Tough, but doable.
See you all tomorrow, earlier, I hope.
Jeannie, I need a recipe. Baked Steak. I have a large dinner to cook in early December.
Abejo
Checking in late today...wonderful comments, Lemon, as always. I had a pretty easy time with this one, and got the theme early with "THE DIVE COMEDY", so that helped immensely with the others....loved all the clues mentioned as well!
Dinner was at Crooks Corner, and I had their world famous shrimp and grits. Yummmm!!
Good evening all,
This was a toughie, but then most Fridays are a real learning expedition for me.Not too many fell into place on my first lap.
shirr,,,LOL,,,sure....not!
quarterback clue-delicious
I put so much trust in all of our clever constructors that I just thought The Dive comedy was one I hadn't seen. Like Kazie, I rarely go to Mr. G anymore, unless I really have to know.You all are my best source.
Pond scum-good choice of words. :-)
Creature, I wondered where you were. So glad the operation was successful. What a horrid disease. Just having a slight bout of vertigo and/or tinnitus drives me bonkers.Did they drain the fluid?Get lots of sleep.
Chub...this fish would be a great idea for a cartoon.
Abejo, go to google, type in baked steak, there are easy recipes to follow, depending on what type streak you have
Chub -- who knew? I must have led a sheltered childhood.
Hola Everyone,
Just wanted to come and check my answers from Friday's puzzle. I didn't finish until very late in the evening (am posting on Sat) so wanted to come to verify that I did indeed have all the answers correct. However, the "Why'd I do that?" answer I had (Dumb A** )feeling wasn't one that anyone else had. Wonder Why?
It took me an age to finish this puzzle, but with all the help I could get from my CW dictionary, Google, and walking away and coming back several times I finally did get through this toughie. My comments would mirror most of what was said by others.
However, it wasn't until I read the post that Lemonade put up that I understood the Will you be M (in)e? answer. I had put IN in everywhere but in the Me. There was a super sized V-8 can when i read the answer!!
Good to see Dennis at the top of the blog this morning.
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